Minneapolis cracks down on youth crime

At a recent national summit in Illinois, law enforcement leaders credited Minneapolis' new approach on attacking juvenile crime. This approach views violence among children not only as a police problem, but also a public health issue.

Last year juvenile crime was responsible for 50 percent of Minneapolis' violent crimes, however, the new way of looking at juvenile crime has helped reduce it by 20 percent from last year. This new plan includes working with U.S. Marshals to locate children with outstanding arrest warrants and even working together with hospitals by getting data on Minneapolis children admitted because of assault.

Gangs, impulsive youth violence and poor parenting have been identified as the three main contributers to juvenile crime. Another major issue is the dramatically increasing number of children with guns. Minneapolis has pulled 600 guns off the street this year, nothing compared to the 10,000 Chicago rounded up last year.

Juvenile crime is a huge problem, not just in Minneapolis, but nationwide. It is a very difficult demographic to control but it seems like Minneapolis is headed in the right direction.